CLARKSVILLE, TN – An Austin Peay State University Governors flag recently zipped through the skies of the United Kingdom in the cockpit of a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet.
Austin Peay alum Capt. Branden Clifton took the flag up with him on Tuesday, Sept. 21, and Ed Butcher captured the image from a hillside. The photo captures the Governors flag facing through the cockpit window as the jet navigates the world-famous Mach Loop (aka the Machynlleth Loop), based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, in the United Kingdom.
“I thought it was a cool opportunity to showcase the school, especially as football season is kicking off again,” said Clifton, who’s seated in the back seat of the plane as a weapon systems officer.
Clifton also wanted to honor his daughter, Alonna Clore-Gregg, an engineering freshman at Austin Peay.
The jet and its team were executing routine low-altitude training in the Mach Loop, which allows for tactical flight training as low as 250 feet from the terrain.
Clifton graduated in 2008 from Austin Peay with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance and a minor in education. He taught at Rossview Middle School before joining the Air Force. He also played football for the Govs during his freshman year.